Summer Eastern Venezuela Jun 18—28, 2007
Posted by David Ascanio
David Ascanio
David Ascanio, a Venezuelan birder and naturalist, has spent the last 25 years guiding birding tours throughout his native country, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana,&n...Related Trips
Southeastern Venezuela has always been a mysterious place, no matter how much human penetration affects the forest and roadside habitats. When I visited this region for the first time, I counted as many as three vehicles per day, and the road conditions were so bad that moving 10 kilometers was considered a long distance.
Nowadays, with Venezuela entering the Mercosur trade agreement, traffic has increased along the roads, but the forests behind them still bring one of the best birding experiences in Venezuela.
Consider these facts: in 11 days we managed to see Harpy Eagle, 26 endemic species, 17 Psittacidae (macaws, parrots, parakeets, and parrotlets), 22 species of hummingbirds, and 59 species of tyrant-flycatchers, for a birdlist of 402 species!
We started in the somehow neglected village of Las Claritas, where gold miners have created an atmosphere reminiscent of the old Wild West. Here, there is no Bolivar Square (present in most towns of Venezuela), no movie theater, only one gas station (serving fuel every other day), and a handful of shops for miners; however, there is an array of Internet sites with broadband satellite connection. Las Claritas was our headquarters for exploring Sierra de Lema, an area considered to be one of the most beautiful cloud forests in Venezuela. We spent the days looking for tepui endemic species, as well as restricted distribution species such as Tawny-headed Swallow, Blue-cheeked Parrot, Rufous-breasted Sabrewing, McConnell's Spinetail, and other species yet to be split such as Sierran Elaenia, Black-headed Tanager, and Pearly-breasted Tody-Tyrant. In the lowlands, we had views of Capuchinbird and Waved Woodpecker, amongst many other species.
From Las Claritas we drove to El Palmar, for a short Llanos experience, seeing Pinnated Bittern, Green Ibis, and many waterbirds. The following day we visited Rio Grande and enjoyed a female Harpy Eagle through the scope. On the trails, White-plumed Antbird and Rufous-throated Antbird (two army ant specialists) were seen very close, while Ferruginous-backed Antbird walked nicely in front of us.
At this point, other birding tour companies say goodbye and participants depart for home, but we don't. From El Palmar we drove to Tucupita, the capital city (not really a city, but a town) of the Delta Amacuro, where we took a boat trip into the Orinoco Delta. What an experience! We saw three yet to be described species (a spinetail, a wagtail-tyrant, and a softtail), and also reported the first nest record of the spinetail!
As I write this, I would like to emphasize that VENT has supported the expeditions taken to this area thanks to your participation, as well as the registration of many other birding fellows in our Venezuela tour program. I should also mention that Javier thanks Bob Tallyn for a pair of binoculars.
I would like to thank you for joining me on this, my favorite Venezuela tour. I would like to point out that we are the only birding organization reaching the Orinoco Delta, given the complicated logistics involved in such a visit. Great appreciation is given to Jose for helping in every aspect of the trip, and for being a superb driver. Also, Carmelitas provided great meals while in Las Claritas, and Javier was as good as always assisting in Rio Grande. I hope you enjoy the birdlist and I look forward to seeing you again!
All photos taken during the trip will be posted on VENT's web site. Also, you can enjoy the videos taken on the trip by visiting the Internet Bird Collection